The Walking Dead: Norman Reedus On The Return Of Merle Dixon; Laurie Holden Gears Up For The Governor

“He’s stepping on a lot of toes, a lot of toes are being stepped on this season and [what is] right [is] sort of inside more than it is outside this season. So, he comes back in a mean, Merle-y way,” Norman Reedus hinted to AccessHollywood.com on Monday night at the Paley Center for Media’s Annual Los Angeles benefit.

“Think of that recipe: Blindfolded with Merle,” she told Access. “It’s a great episode. It’s a departure from the show in many ways and I hope fans love it.”

Also coming is – finally – the long awaited debut of one of the comic book’s most serious villains – The Governor. And Laurie, whose character, Andrea, is on a path to his doorstep in Woodbury, said David Morrissey’s portrayal of a post-zombie apocalypse leader, is powerful.

“What I love about his take on The Governor is that he’s not the obvious villain, he’s very charming and seductive,” she said. “You don’t’ really get that he’s evil. He’s the perfect sociopath. From the outside you think this man is amazing.”

With Andrea on a new path alongside Michonne (Danai Gurira), Laurie said her character will encounter some grave scenarios.

“It’s a challenging season because she’s separated from the group and she’s gonna be faced with a lot of hard choices,” Laurie continued. “And the ramifications of the decisions she makes have a — and this is an understatement – a dramatic impact not only on her life but on a lot of people. It’s really epic storytelling.”

While the show handles some serious and gruesome scenes and plotlines, there is time for fun on the set.

When asked about Carol’s (Melissa McBride) suggestion to Daryl in Episode 1 that they “fool around,” Norman revealed they have an on set joke for a spinoff series.

“We were talking about having a spinoff and it’s Daryl and Carol living in Central Park, and all the squirrels are going missing so Bloomberg’s putting out announcements that the squirrels are disappearing and we have sort of a [distillery] and tourist come by… and we try to charge them money,” he explained. “We have theme song that goes, ‘Carol is sterile and Daryl is feral/a match made in hell.’ So you never know, maybe that will happen.”

Click HERE to watch our interview with Norman about the fantasy spinoff and the success of the show.